


the reason that i come alive

by astralscrivener



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Declarations Of Love, Dorks in Love, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Knight Keith (Voltron), M/M, Not Really Character Death, Prince Lance (Voltron), Role-Playing Game
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-02
Updated: 2020-08-02
Packaged: 2021-03-05 23:22:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,530
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25673524
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/astralscrivener/pseuds/astralscrivener
Summary: based on the "prince lanceylance and brave knight kogane" shenanigans fromsquad up.I love you. I love you. I wish I’d said it more.The woods are, truly, an excellent place to LARP and confess your love to your fiancé.
Relationships: Keith/Lance (Voltron)
Comments: 29
Kudos: 173





	the reason that i come alive

**Author's Note:**

  * For [the_arthipelago](https://archiveofourown.org/users/the_arthipelago/gifts).
  * Inspired by [squad up](https://archiveofourown.org/works/12199533) by [astralscrivener](https://archiveofourown.org/users/astralscrivener/pseuds/astralscrivener). 



> _title from **hold on** by flor_
> 
> this is [mar's](https://twitter.com/the_arthipelago) fault
> 
> so for y'all who didn't read squad up, or don't remember, keith and lance had this whole like. fantasy story going on called "prince lanceylance and the brave knight kogane," where lance was a prince and keith was the knight sworn to protect him and they would just. build onto the story when they were bored. anyway there was a chapter where pidge's sorceress character "killed" keith and lance brought him back to life w true love's kiss bc it's cheesy and keith and lance are cheesy and in love
> 
> so i was talking to mar and she mentioned them just. fucking around in the woods acting out this scene. and it wouldn't leave me alone. so i wrote it and [she did art for it](https://twitter.com/the_arthipelago/status/1290048898615013381)!!!
> 
> i'm not counting it as part of the squad up universe bc i'm trying to distance myself from it so i guess it's canon now that prince lanceylance and the brave knight are just. a constant across every single modern au i write now 
> 
> anyway they're in college they're in the woods on the outskirts of campus have fun
> 
> **minor trigger warning for pretend character death**

“Keith? Keith!”

Prince Lanceylance’s shoes are not made for running.

He slides over dirt and twigs and kicks up fiery leaves in his wake as he tears through the woods as he searches for his knight. His heart whacks in his chest, deepening the ache that grows with every passing second.

_Where are you, where_ are _you—?_

“ _KEITH!_ ”

Between the blazing trees, in a pile of leaves that looks almost as though it’s been meticulously arranged, lies a body, so perfectly positioned it almost looks as though it’s merely sleeping. But Lance knows better—knows when his foot slips and he pitches forward and all but collapses over it and it doesn’t move, not even a twitch. Not a breath when Lance puts a hand near its nose and mouth.

“No, nononono…Keith, sweetheart…”

Kneeling, Lance pulls Keith into his lap and tries again, feels for warmth, for _life_ —he waits, and waits, and _waits_ —

—for nothing.

“No,” Lance breathes out. “Please, Keith…” He pushes Keith’s hair back, out of his eyes and behind his ears, just as he’s done a thousand times before. It should be the same as always: he’ll push Keith’s hair back, and Keith’s eyes will open slightly, and he’ll give Lance that soft smile he reserves for him only. Lance will kiss him, Keith will kiss him back, and they’ll savor every second until Keith has to sneak back out of his prince’s bedroom and attend to his duties. “Keith, love, open your eyes. Please.”

Lance swallows thickly. His breaths come sharper and his limbs tingle, his fingers and toes numb. There’s nothing he can do, is there? He’s not well-versed in medicine or magic, and it’s a hopeless trek back home. They’re far into the woods with no transport but Lance’s back to bear Keith’s weight; by the time Lance gets back to the palace with him, there won’t be any point. If he’s not already gone now, he will be.

The gravity of the situation dawns upon Lance. It reaches icy fingers around his lungs and squeezes as Lance cradles Keith’s face and curls over him, pressing their foreheads together, woven crown slipping down his head.

“I’m sorry,” he whispers. “I’m so sorry. This is all my fault.”

He drags in another shallow breath, holds back a sob, and then does what he wishes he’d done before Keith departed for his mission: he leans in and kisses him. A brush of their lips, then another. That last part of him still stubbornly clinging to the idea that Keith is just resting lets go at last when Keith doesn’t chase after him. Tears breaking free and slipping down his cheeks, Lance presses their mouths together, firmly but gently, and pours everything he has into it. Everything he never had time to say, every _I love you_ that Keith will never hear, every morning they’ll never get to spend together, every first and last and all those other in-betweens that he’ll have to live without Keith.

_I_ _’m sorry. It should have been me—you never should have had to do this for me. I’m so sorry._

_I love you. I love you. I wish I_ _’d said it more._

Lost in his grief, Lance almost doesn’t notice when the lips against his begin moving with him, and a hand comes up to cradle the back of his head. He stiffens and pulls back, and his favorite sight from every morning greets him: Keith, smiling up at him softly.

“You never have to worry about saying you love me more,” he whispers. His smile fades a little bit when he sees the expression on Lance’s face. His hand slides down and cups Lance’s cheek, and he thumbs away his tears. “I’m sorry for any worry I may have caused you. Are you alright, darling?”

“ _Me?_ ” Lance manages, choked up. “You—you were…” He shakes his head and pulls Keith into a crushing hug, burying his face in his neck. “ _You_ _’re alive_.”

“Of course I am,” Keith says quietly. “I have to protect you, don’t I?”

Lance squeezes him, hard and sudden, and takes in a sharp breath. “Not at the cost of your own _life!_ ”

“Yes, at the cost of my own life.” Keith pushes at Lance’s shoulders until the two of them are far enough apart that he can look Lance in the eyes. He’s still smiling, even at Lance’s stricken expression. “I took an oath to the crown, to the prince…an oath to _you_.” He reaches up to adjust Lance’s crown, and fresh tears gather in the corners of Lance’s eyes. 

“I swore that I would be at your side from the moment my duty began until the day I died, even if that death was an early one upon an enemy blade. I swore that I would protect you no matter the cost, that I would be the right hand you rely on and the supporting shoulder for you to lean upon. That _I_ would be the one to bear this duty. It was not a punishment; it never has been, and never will be. Not when it’s something I want to do more than anything.”

Lance closes his eyes and sniffles. Keith brings a hand back up to wipe away his tears, and Lance closes his hand over Keith’s, leans into his palm.

“You needn’t weep for me,” Keith murmurs. “I chose this, and I would choose it again if given the chance, every time. My sword is yours— _I_ am yours, forever and always. My body, my heart, my soul— _all of me_ , every part, belongs to you until my last breath, and then after that, too. My duty may expire when I do, but my love…” Keith runs his thumb over Lance’s cheekbone. “My love transcends time, and death could not even hope to keep it bound.”

His last words are barely audible as his throat finally closes on him. For a moment, he and Lance sit in silence, surrounded by the sounds of the woods at the height of autumn: the birds chirping, the rustle of leaves in the wind, the rush of the river nearby.

“Lance?” Keith asks when his breathing has finally evened out, his eyes clear at last. “You alright?”

“You asshole,” Lance mutters.

He leans back so Keith can sit up better, but he ducks his head, burying his face in his hands. Keith laughs lightly and tugs at his wrists.

“Stop hiding from me and come here.”

“How dare you,” Lance grumbles, pointedly refusing to look up. “How dare you make me cry like that.”

Keith gives up on trying to get Lance to look up and sighs melodramatically, throwing his arms around Lance’s shoulders and guiding his face back to his neck.

“I’m sorry,” he says, kissing Lance’s temple. “I didn’t expect to you get that into it.”

“Oh, _I didn_ _’t expect—_ you got _just_ as into it. You…your speech patterns, the…the _promises_ …” Lance drags in a shuddering breath and lets go of it slowly, trying to get his body to relax. Everything is fine, after all. Keith is here, alive and holding him. They’re both okay, and yet… “You weren’t pretending, were you?”

His voice comes out smaller than he meant it to.

Keith rubs his back and thinks for a moment. “ _Well_ , I _was_ pretending to be dead, and also a medieval knight despite the fact that a sweatshirt doesn’t exactly constitute plate armor—”

“ _Keith_.”

“But I meant every word I said.” Keith settles his chin on Lance’s shoulder and stares out at the woods beyond them: the trees topped in red and gold, the beaten path they took that leads back up to one of the main trails, the wooden bridge over the river where they carved their initials last spring, a little way to make their mark on the world. He slips a hand under Lance’s sweatshirt and runs his fingers up and down Lance’s spine.

“I love you more than anything, and if it came down to it, I would die for you. No questions asked. I’m yours, now and in whatever comes after this life.”

Lance’s shoulders tremble, and Keith’s eyes mist again.

“I chose you,” he whispers. “And I’d choose you again if I had to go back in time and do it all over, I’d choose you again if we were in some alternate universe, I’d choose you again even if you didn’t choose me back…I’d choose you every single time.”

At the mere idea of choosing anyone else, Lance digs his fingers into Keith’s back.

“It’s you,” he says hoarsely. “It’s always been you. I don’t know a lot of things, but I know this. If you’re mine, then I’m yours. Always.”

Keith closes his eyes and breathes in deeply. He can declare his love and devotion all he likes, but he doesn’t think he’ll ever be used to hearing Lance say those sorts of things back to him.

“I love you. …Sorry for scaring you with my exceptional acting.”

Lance snorts, and Keith is relieved to hear him laughing again.

“I love you too, you dick.”

**Author's Note:**

> short n cheesy just the way i like it
> 
> anyway, they are in love
> 
> i hope u enjoyed that, if u would like to see more content from me [youtuber voice] SMASH THAT MFIN SUBSCRIBE BUTTON SO U DON'T MISS ANOTHER UPLOAD
> 
> please check out [mar's art](https://twitter.com/the_arthipelago)!!! in addition to kl she also draws promare, hq, atla, and other things!!! she is also just wonderful in general and deserves all the love and support
> 
> alright see y'all in. whatever i upload next
> 
> have a wonderful day!!!
> 
> [s4-8 fix-it fic](https://archiveofourown.org/works/15900732/chapters/37059441) || [other fics](https://archiveofourown.org/users/astralscrivener/works) || [twitter](https://twitter.com/astralscrivener)


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